Speed+Networking

=Speed Networking= by Steve Corbett

Purpose
This activity seeks to help employees increase their visibility within a company through networking. It provides a fun, structured process for employees to network based loosely on the "speed dating" concept. The following objectives apply.

Event Objective: For Leaders: For Non-leaders
 * To provide a forum for employees to network with one another in a relaxed, fun yet structured environment.
 * To increase awareness of their role and the role of their organization within the company.
 * To discover new, potential resources.
 * To give them an opportunity to self promote their skills and performance.
 * To increase their visibility at the company.

Number of Participants

 * At a minimum, an even number of participants is needed with half of them being leaders and the other half being non-leaders.
 * If there are more leaders than non-leaders, then have the extra leader(s) participate as non-leaders. This acts as networking with peers.
 * If there are more non-leaders than leaders, then have the extra non-leader(s) participate as leaders. This acts as networking with peers.
 * The optimal number of participants is 10 (5 leaders and 5 non-leaders)
 * The maximum number of participants is 20 (10 leaders and 10 non-leaders)
 * The minimum number of participants is 6 (3 leaders and 3 non-leaders)

Time Required
This event is broken down into four components as follows: 1) Introduction – 10 minutes 2) Networking Rounds – 20 minutes to 60 minutes depending on number of participants. 3) Group Debrief – 10 minutes
 * Each networking round is 5 minutes in length.
 * There is one networking round for each pair of participants.
 * For example, if there are 20 participants, then there are 10 possible pairs. A group of 20 participants would have 10 rounds covering 50 minutes.
 * About a full minute passes between each round, so if there are 10 rounds, it will likely require about 60 minutes to complete all 10 rounds.

Supplies Needed
>> What is the role of your department? >> Is the type of work performed by your department primarily structured/routine, ambiguous, or both? >> What are some of the skill sets necessary to succeed in your department? >> What do your employees like best about your department? >> What are your department’s short term and long term goals? >> What is the biggest current challenge in your department? >> What motivates you the most about your job? >> What is your leadership style? >> If your employees were to describe you in three words, what would they be? >> What key positions and accomplishments in your career helped you get to the level you have achieved? >> What is the greatest challenge that you have ever faced in your career? >> If I was looking for a mentor in your department, who would you recommend and why? >> Tell me about your current role. >> What aspect of your job do you find most rewarding? >> What types of skills or expertise do you feel you excel at most? >> What are your short term and long term goals/aspirations? >> Can you briefly describe your work experience/background? >> If your colleagues/boss were to describe you in three words what would they be? >> What type of work environment do you prefer (e.g. structured vs. ambiguous, project-driven vs. routine)? >> What is the greatest challenge that you have ever faced in your career? >> If you could have any job for a day, what would it be and why? >> If you could work anywhere internationally, where would you like to go?
 * This wiki as an Instructor Guide
 * PC Projector
 * Powerpoint slides listing Objectives, Activity Guidelines, and Icebreaker Questions (one question per slide) - examples of Icebreaker questions:
 * If your best friends were to describe you in three words what would they be?
 * Where is your favorite/most exotic/ most extreme vacation spot? Why?
 * What is your favorite TV Series (or Movie), and Why?
 * What do you like to do outside of work (i.e.. hobbies, activities)?
 * When you were a child and aspired to be one thing in life, what was that one thing?
 * If you won the Powerball and decided to retire tomorrow, what would you do / where would your dream home be located?
 * If you were an animal - what animal would you be and why?
 * If you could meet someone famous who would it be and why?
 * What has been the most memorable recognition that you have received? What made that recognition special?
 * Networking Reference Cards (NRC) - 1 per participant (pre-filled before arriving for the event)
 * Leader NRC: Lists the name, organization, current role, skills they are seeking in employees, and contact information. Includes a photo.
 * Non-leader NRC: Lists the name, organization, current role, key strengths, aspirations, and contact information. Includes a photo.
 * Participant networking question sheet - 1 per participant
 * **Questions for non-leaders to use:**
 * **Questions for leaders to use:**
 * Bicycle bell or other sound-making device
 * Clock or stop watch to track the rounds
 * Binder rings for each partipant to use for the NRCs they receive
 * Refreshments

Preparation
Read this wiki, and become familiar with the objectives, introduction, and activity guidelines.
 * 1) Prior to the event, ensure 10 copies of each leader’s NRC and each non-leaders’s NRC has been printed on cardstock and the 10 copies of the networking questions have been printed on cardstock.
 * 2) Ensure the seating format is in place prior to the arrival of attendees. Ideally, you will want to have a line of tables with the "leader" participants remaining stationary on one side and the "non-leader" participants moving one seat clockwise each round. [[image:format.gif align="center"]]
 * 3) Randomly pre-designate the tables. Each table should have a nametag, a pen, a folder with the Meritocracy handouts, the 10 NRCs for the participant/leader, and a copy of the participant/leader questions.
 * 4) Confirm that you have the event deck(s) and a bicycle bell, and confirm that the PC projector is working properly.

Introduction
Welcome everyone to Speed Networking. Over the next hour, we will be participating in a session that will be informative and fun. The purpose of this session is to provide a structured forum for networking. It is based loosely on the speed dating concept. You won't be getting any dates today, but you will get to know employees in other organizations. For non-leaders, networking is a way for you to self promote your skills and achievements and increase your visibilty in the company. For leaders, networking gives you an opportunity to increase awareness of what your role is in the company and the role of your organization. It also gives you an opportunity to discover new, potential resources. Let's get started.

Process

 * 1) The facilitator will start the round by reading an icebreaker question projected on the screen. Each round will have a different icebreaker question projected on the screen. Participants may use this question or come up with their own.
 * 2) After the facilitator has read the icebreaker question, the clock starts.
 * 3) Participants will introduce themselves, exchange Networking Reference Cards (NRC), and initiate conversation by discussing the icebreaker question. Each participant will also have a list of sample networking questions that may be used to initiate or continue conversation. Participants are not ‘required’ to use these questions and may use questions of their own.
 * 4) The facilitator will yell “30 seconds left!” when there is 30 seconds remaining in the round.
 * 5) A final bell will sound at 5 minutes to conclude each round.
 * 6) Non-leaders (particpant that moves every round) will then have one minute to move one seat clockwise to the next leader (stationary participant) as shown in the seating chart diagram under Preparation.
 * 7) The next round will begin as soon as everyone has taken their new seat.
 * 8) The facilitator will start the round by reading the next icebreaker question projected on the screen.

Debrief

 * How did you feel about the first interactions compared to the middle and last interations?
 * Did you learn anything new about others or their organizations that you did not know before?
 * What questions worked well and didn't work well?
 * Did you use questions other than the ones listed?
 * Was there enough time, too little time, or not enough time?

Credits
I came up with the idea at work when I was a member of a team addressing employee engagement problems.